A socio-cultural youth body, Mangrove Boys Brigade of Bayelsa State, has officially written to President Muhammadu Buhari urging him to direct the Timi Sylva-led All Progressives Congress in Bayelsa State to immediately vacate the government-owned property at Izagara Close, off Baybridge Road, Kpansia in the state capital or risk forceful ejection.
The spokesman for the group, Kingboy Peretimi Joshua, said the letter to Buhari is against the backdrop of an earlier appeal for him to intervene in the matter, given the claim by the Sylva-led APC that their action is backed by the leadership of the ruling party at the centre.
According to Joshua, despite the claim by the APC in the state that it has the full backing of the leader of the party at the national level, the group remains doubtful of the claim, knowing President Buhari’s tough stance on the rule of law.
He said: “As a man, who believes in the rule law and its importance in a democratic dispensation like ours, we are calling him on President Buhari, to as a matter of urgency prevail on Sylva and the APC to obey the subsisting court order, which had ordered the APC to vacate the said premises.”
The Mangrove boys spokesman noted with concern the actions of the APC in Bayelsa State, which are deliberate and intended to provoke violence, heat up the system and lead to break down of law and order.
He said if not nipped in the bud by President Buhari, it could have far reaching consequences.
It will be recalled that after several peaceful moves to have the APC vacate the property, the State Government, through the Yenagoa Capital City Development Authority, obtained an order of interim injunction from the High Court of Bayelsa State, presided over by Justice G. S. Botei, on July 22, 2015 that the APC vacated the property pending the determination of the motion on notice.